Perkins tackles big topics at Dole

KU athletic director takes questions from audience for an hour

LAWRENCE — In an hour-long question-and-answer session at the Dole Institute of Politics at The University of Kansas, KU athletic director Lew Perkins addressed inflated salaries in college athletics, KU's legal battle with Joe-College.com, the athletic department's self-audit into a ticket scandal, NCAA Tournament expansion and the future of the Bowl Championship Series.

Perkins has been in the news recently, as word that Perkins earned $4.4 million in wages and bonuses in 2009 became public and Kansas Athletics, Inc., settled what had been a long legal battle with Joe-College.com.

In addressing the salaries of college coaches and administrators, Perkins said, "I don't make the rules, I'm trying to follow the rules."

A member of the audience later asked Perkins why he and other people of power in collegiate athletics couldn't make the rules, suggesting the current salary situation was a bubble that would eventually burst.

Perkins said he had sat in many meetings during his career in which college presidents and athletic directors said they wanted to stop the arms race, but pointed out that when that school zeroes on a coach it wants they're willing to pay whatever it takes.

"I think at some time, the bubble's going to burst," Perkins said.

But he then pointed out the difficult position colleges are in, using KU men's basketball coach Bill Self as an example.

"If Bill left, we're gonna have to go out and get the best coach we can find and we're gonna have to pay him a lot of money," Perkins said.

Perkins, whose department won a legal battle over Joe-College.com which would have forced the local T-shirt manufacturer to pay KU almost $800,000 in damages and legal fees, came to a settlement with Joe-College.com in which the company would not have to pay the legal fees but would be prohibited from making shirts with the color blue or the word 'Kansas' on them.

An audience member asked Perkins how he could justify to donors and alumni not taking the money, when another business could make the same shirts Joe-College.com did.

"At the end of the day, we weren't interested in hurting anybody," Perkins said. "We were more interested in protecting our brand, our color, our marks."

Perkins said he thought the judgment against Joe-College.com would discourage other businesses from making similar shirts.

Perkins was cautious when addressing the internal and FBI investigation into a possible ticket scandal in which men's basketball tickets were sold illegally through brokers.

"If you have people who are dishonest, they find a way to beat the system," Perkins said.

He then added, "I've taken this very personally. I'm embarrassed this happened under my watch."

But the hottest topic may have been NCAA Tournament expansion, talk of which has picked up steam in the media this week. Perkins expects the tournament to expand to 96 teams.

"In my opinion, that's a done deal," he said.

But he doesn't support it.

"Personally, I'm kind of a traditionalist," he said. "I liked 32."

He questioned coaches who think tournament expansion will help save their jobs, saying that being the 95th team into a 96-team tournament wouldn't go far with athletic directors.

"You do that for four straight years," Perkins said, "you're not gonna save your job."

He then was asked about the BCS, which Perkins said he supports. That wasn't necessarily a surprise, but what he said next might have been. Perkins predicted the conferences that now make up the BCS would split off from the NCAA.

"At some time, the six major conferences are going to have their own quasi-NCAA," he said. "They're going to do their own thing."

He didn't think this was imminent, but was confident in it.

"It's gonna happen," he said. "I hear a lot of college presidents talking about those kinds of things."

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you should be embarrassed about what happened in the ticket office. You are not teflon, at some point, some of these mismanagement fiascos will stick to you, exactly where they belong. If you did not know what was happening, you should have....not knowing shows your incompetence.

The KU Athletics problems have gotten out of hand under your watch....you are a money hungry, blowhard that has changed the very fabric of KU Athletics. Go back to wherever you came from and leave Kansas alone. I can't believe the damage that has occurred since you came to Kansas....you lie to supporters, you dishonor those that made KU Athletics what it is today, and you should be ashamed.

Bye Bye Lew.....retire, leave, just get outta here....we don't need you and we don't want you representing the University.

I applaud having yursister help with grammar/spelling/usage in your comments, but spouting this libleftie tripe about the 'right' way to run a big time athletic department makes me wonder if she also inserts her PC agenda when you aren't looking.

You may want to remind her what that famous Ok philosopher said about such opinions:

It's not what you DON'T know gets you in trouble so much as what you DO know that just ain't SO . . .